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The start of the most recent downturn can be traced back to the four most recent call-ups (Olivieri, Cote, Tedesco, and Sutliffe). During that time there have been injuries to key players (Grinbergs, Coyne), which added to the backward trend. While that's not an excuse, it's an inevitability in a feeder league like the SPHL. That said, there have been AMPLE strides in the right direction which can't be seen simply looking at the standings. The "next man up" mentality has been running rampant in players like Dillan Fox who's sophomore season is proving to be very successful. Goaltender Tyler Green is still among the league leaders in wins, and Coach Landmesser's acquisitions have been top-notch. Shane Bennett is one of the teams top point scorers since coming over from Fayetteville, Vojtech Zemlicka was supposed to just be a defensive patch while Grinbergs and Coyne healed up and he has five points in seven games and has become a vital piece to the power-play unit. Speaking of special teams, the RiverKings are first in the SPHL in PK - a spot they once occupied during their six-game win streak in November. Two months are in the books and the season has been full of ups and downs, but if players like Fox, Green, Mantha, Bennett, Marcuz and the defense continue their upward trend this team will be a force later in the season. With or without the return of the foursome of ECHL players.

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We are now in 7th place. Our last 12 games, we are 3 and 9. The Kings had another call up today, obviously, their best player. I noticed the other teams and coaches are constantly making changes to their roster but I don't see the Kings's bringing in any new players. The last change in roster was 1-06-18 when Coyne came off injured reserve and we let Duprey go. Before that it was a signing for Zemlicka on 12-23-17 after starting a 3 game tryout on 12-14-18. It just seems like the deck should be aggressively shuffled, within reason, until something works.

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I totally understand your frustration, I mean I do have to witness every loss with my own two eyes. Just remember that an aggressive shuffling of the roster is kind of what put the RiverKings in this position to begin with. They were aggressively poached; with all their leading scorers, save Mantha, called up to the ECHL. I don't think making changes for the sake of change is the correct way to go about business because the one thing this team desperately needs is chemistry. Sometimes suffering through the losses is necessary to find that gel within the unit. In my professional opinion, it's not a WHO problem necessarily but just an execution problem. The guys have been gripping their sticks a little too tight and haven't found any rhythm as they go about their business still trying to pick up the pieces of those call-ups. I don't think rocking the boat considerably is going to help that cause. Keep in mind, there will be changes coming eventually. Whether that's getting some guys back from the ECHL or another type of addition since the team is currently below the roster limit (they never added a player since the call-up of Dillan Fox). But making MAJOR changes right now may just be a knee-jerk reaction to the recent struggles, which honestly I think just needs some elbow grease and determination to get through.

On 1/12/2018 at 11:12 AM, fitter said:

We are now in 7th place. Our last 12 games, we are 3 and 9. The Kings had another call up today, obviously, their best player. I noticed the other teams and coaches are constantly making changes to their roster but I don't see the Kings's bringing in any new players. The last change in roster was 1-06-18 when Coyne came off injured reserve and we let Duprey go. Before that it was a signing for Zemlicka on 12-23-17 after starting a 3 game tryout on 12-14-18. It just seems like the deck should be aggressively shuffled, within reason, until something works.